How to Manage Working Capital and Free Up Cash

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What’s working capital in a business? Do you want more cash for your business? It’s not hard to imagine how a business might paint a rosy picture of itself by tweaking an assumption here or there. However, by managing working capital, you can use financial numbers to help your company improve its actual performance without increasing sales or bringing costs down. Discover how to manage working capital to improve financial stability.

Return on Investment in Business: How to Calculate & Assess ROI

A business person taking notes with a pen to calculate return on investment in business

What’s the importance of return on investment in business? How can you determine if a business is a good investment? Perhaps the most basic question anyone who invests in a business asks is, “Will this be a good use of my time and money?” To put it simply, the return on investment (ROI) answers this by measuring how profitable an investment is compared to its cost. Let’s look at how to calculate ROI and how to read the numbers you get back.

How to Understand Accounting Better for the Sake of Your Business

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Do you want to improve your accounting knowledge? Are you in charge of your business’s finances? In Financial Intelligence, Karen Berman and Joe Knight explain how to calculate important numbers that reflect your business’s profitability, efficiency, and potential to attract investors. They also discuss how to manage your working capital to increase how much cash your business keeps on hand. Read more to learn how to understand accounting better so your business’s finances can soar.

Profitability in Business: 3 Margins to Keep an Eye On

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How can you measure profitability in business? What makes a business profitable? A return on investment statement measures how profitable an investment is compared to its cost, but many business owners may want to know how much their company is worth overall. To determine this, you look at three financial ratios: gross profit margin, operating profit margin, and net profit margin. Keep reading to learn about these margins.

Financial Performance Measures to Gauge a Business’s Health

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How can you measure a business’s profitability, efficiency, and investment potential? Why should you analyze your financial statements like investors? Karen Berman and Joe Knight discuss several key financial ratios that managers, investors, and analysts use to evaluate a company’s performance and financial health. Berman and Knight identify several important financial performance measures that indicate a company’s profitability, efficiency, and overall financial strength. Here’s how to use performance metrics to measure a company’s overall health.

Cash Flow for Small Businesses: How to Interpret Your Statements

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What are the three main areas of cash flow for small businesses? What does a cash flow statement tell you that an income and balance sheet statement don’t? The income statement and the balance sheet give an overview of a business’s financial position, taking into account past and future revenue and expenses. On the other hand, the cash flow statement fleshes out the full picture of where a business stands in the present—and whether it can afford to pay its bills. Let’s look at how to interpret a cash flow statement.

What Is a Balance Sheet for a Business? A Financial Snapshot

A woman holding a sheet of paper with a dollar sign above her head, questioning "what is a balance sheet for a business"

What is a balance sheet for a business? What does a balance sheet tell you about a business’s finances that an income sheet can’t? The balance sheet provides a snapshot of a company’s financial position at a specific time. Karen Berman and Joe Knight explain how balance sheets present your business’s overall value, what kinds of assumptions underlie your balance numbers, and what the balance sheet reveals about your business that a simple income statement cannot. Continue reading to learn the three main sections of a balance sheet and how to read one.

Income Statements in Business: How to Understand the Numbers

A dollar sign on white paper representing an income statement in business

What’s an income statement in business? How does an income statement track revenue? The first document any business owner needs to understand is the income statement. This shows whether your company is profitable. According to Financial Intelligence by Karen Berman and Joe Knight, an income statement requires careful interpretation. Keep reading to learn what an income statement tells you about your business’s financial health.

Financial Literacy for Business Owners: 3 Key Documents to Grasp

A businessman looking at a chalkboard with a dollar sign written on it as part of learning financial literacy for business owners

What are the basic financial terms you need to know as a business owner? What’s the difference between an income statement and a cash flow statement? Understanding your business’s finances requires making sense of different types of reports. Unfortunately, according to Karen Berman and Joe Knight, financial statements aren’t as straightforward as they may seem. Below, we’ll break down financial literacy for business owners who want to understand their company’s numbers.

The 3 Best Financial Intelligence Quotes for Business Owners

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What are the most memorable Financial Intelligence quotes? How hard is it to learn basic accounting? In Financial Intelligence, published in 2006 and updated in 2013, Karen Berman and Joe Knight define the titular term as a set of learnable skills that let you understand and effectively use financial information in your business. They argue that financial intelligence is something that anyone can develop, regardless of background or aptitude for numbers. Read below for the best quotes from Financial Intelligence.